First look at Canon EOS 4K single-lens reflex camera

The legendary camera manufacturer 'Canon' has recently revealed that the company is in the process of developing a new Digital Single Lens Reflex camera in its EOS series. The new model will be capable of shooting 4k videos, widely used in cinematographic productions and high resolution applications. The product is estimated to be available in the first quarter of 2012 and it is presently a concept. The Canon's team is working passionately to make this model a grand success. With its stunning technology, Canon is destined to inspire the cinematographic industry in the near future. The concept was unveiled at the Paramount Studios in Hollywood.

Canon EOS C300

First look

The model is quite impressive and captivating at the first glimpse itself because of its compact size. In fact, the camera is designed to make it bigger in the vertical orientation. The body has a large view finder which protrudes a few centimeters in the opposite direction of the lens. Most of the controls are positioned on the left side of the body while the input, output jackets and ports are positioned on the right side. Surprisingly, provision for the strap is also available in this model which could be found in any normal DSLR cameras. The pictures describe the concept's stunning design with the right position of the control buttons which are unequally spread around the body.

What's new?

The new concept poses a powerful sensor which will be one of the highlights of this model. The release of this model depicts Canon's entry into the cinema EOS system where high resolution models are widely used. This concept has the capacity to record high resolution 4k videos with the wide varieties of Canon's EF lenses. This concept can record 4k videos at a frame rate of 24P and it includes JPEG motion compression too. This 24P is similar to the traditional 24 frames per second as captured by most of the common camcorders. The powerful sensor uses the Complementary Metal Oxide Semi-conductor technology shortly known as CMOS. This technology helps the concept to produce accurate color and skin tones. Nowadays, there are huge demands for high performance video devices in the industries.

What's been refreshed

The Super 35mm CMOS sensor captures motion images with its three color profiles namely RGB. All together, the sensor is capable of storing information in its 8.29 million effective pixels. The newly developed sensor minimizes the effect of rolling shutter skews and almost eliminates the formation of jagged edges. The concept works with the current interchangeable Canon's EF lenses which are used in SLR cameras and the newly developed EF cinema lenses.

Features walk-through

The new concept is available in two models namely the Canon EOS C300 and C300 PL. Apart from the mounting technology; both these models possess the same features. Canon is about to introduce a variety of 4k capable lenses in the wide, zooming and prime lenses categories. The camera is capable of recording Full HD videos of the format 1080P at the frame rates between 24 and 30 fps. Most of the options including Focus, Exposure, White Balance, etc., are to be manually set which is why this model is destined to be used only in a controlled environment. This concept utilizes a 4:2:2 color sampling and CODEC which were widely used in previous cameras. This camera poses dual card slots for continuous and seamless recordings.

What's good

The compatibility of the new concept to be used with the EF lenses as well as with the new cinematic lenses is highly welcomed. The super 35 mm sensor produces a better low light performance. The new concept allows playing with the Depth of Field creatively. The picture quality seems to be very good from the sample videos. The compact design improves the versatility of this camera.

What’s not so good

The new concept is quoted for a high price which makes it unaffordable for most of the small scale production teams. There is no real 4k output. They are down sampled. The concept is capable of recording 1080p videos only between 24 and 30 frames per second which is one of the major disadvantage.

Industry buzz

Even the manufacturer accepts that this camera would be unaffordable by the small teams. Still, Canon is destined to overwhelm the Hollywood with this stupendous concept.

Price and availability

The price of this concept is estimated to be around $20,000. The production models are expected to hit the market by the first quarter of 2012 probably in January.

Wrap up

With better features and versatility, this concept will inspire the video enthusiasts around the world and allows them to play with their creativity in all kinds of environment.

Picture Gallery

Canon EOS C300

Canon EOS C300